Malaysia, China sign vaccine development and accessibility cooperation agreement

In a joint statement today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) said the agreement was signed by MOSTI Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and his Chinese counterpart Wang Zhigang.

"This agreement will be operationalised under the supervision of a High-Level Committee, which will be co-chaired by Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi as agreed on Oct 13 in order to promote pragmatic cooperation and a more coherent approach in addressing post-pandemic challenges," the statement said.

According to the statement, in a bilateral virtual engagement earlier, both Khairy and Zhigang had agreed to expand collaboration in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic through science diplomacy.

"Under the agreement, Malaysia will be given priority access to COVID-19 vaccines developed by China, knowledge sharing and expertise as well as facilitate scientific and technological capabilities to advance vaccine development in both countries.

"Both countries will also support the participation of their public and private sectors including universities, institutions, societies and organisations in joint collaborative projects," it said.

The agreement shall remain in force for an initial period of five years and shall be automatically extended for a further period of one year each at a time, upon the mutual agreement by both parties.